A Peace of Portadown
Yesterday I finally mailed a package to Jonny, our Northern Irish teen from the 2005 Ulster Project. I meant to mail it about six weeks ago, but ...
The Ulster Project pairs American teens with Northern Irish teens (Protestant American girls with Protestant NI girls, Catholic American boys with Catholic NI boys, etc.), in hopes of helping build peace between the two religious factions. The organization's website (www.ulsterproject.org) states: The Ulster Project is dedicated to promoting a peaceful parity of esteem between Roman Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland by building tolerance, trust, and ongoing positive relationships among potential leaders from these Christian traditions.
Hutchinson sponsors twelve American-Northern Irish pairs of teens each summer. Our NI teens come from the Portadown area in County Armagh. (Other American cities sponsor teens from other parts of Northern Ireland.) We were lucky enough to be a part of the Project last year with our son, Dylan. And we were lucky enough to get Jonny Laverty as our NI teen. It was a great experience, and I encourage anyone who has the chance to participate to take it. It takes a lot of time out of your summer, but it's more than worth it -- it will change your life. I can't say enough good things about it.
Just be prepared to have a lot of Oreos and Mountain Dew on hand, and to send care packages filled with these items back to your NI teen!
The Ulster Project pairs American teens with Northern Irish teens (Protestant American girls with Protestant NI girls, Catholic American boys with Catholic NI boys, etc.), in hopes of helping build peace between the two religious factions. The organization's website (www.ulsterproject.org) states: The Ulster Project is dedicated to promoting a peaceful parity of esteem between Roman Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland by building tolerance, trust, and ongoing positive relationships among potential leaders from these Christian traditions.
Hutchinson sponsors twelve American-Northern Irish pairs of teens each summer. Our NI teens come from the Portadown area in County Armagh. (Other American cities sponsor teens from other parts of Northern Ireland.) We were lucky enough to be a part of the Project last year with our son, Dylan. And we were lucky enough to get Jonny Laverty as our NI teen. It was a great experience, and I encourage anyone who has the chance to participate to take it. It takes a lot of time out of your summer, but it's more than worth it -- it will change your life. I can't say enough good things about it.
Just be prepared to have a lot of Oreos and Mountain Dew on hand, and to send care packages filled with these items back to your NI teen!
posted by Terry Christner | 5:52 AM
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